You can download: the December Mix#12 right hereor get the new January 2016 Mix#1 here.

First off, let's get one thing straight. No one sounds like THE FALL OF TROY.

Now that that's out of the way, here's my THE FALL OF TROY origin story. I guess I had read somewhere online that Billy Werner (the vocalist for Hot Cross at that time) was big into this new band called The Fall Of Troy so I picked up their debut cd on Interpunk back in 2003. At this point I hadn't heard even a snippet from the record and no one else was talking about them so I didn't know what to expect. I got my giant package from interpunk and decided to put 'The Fall of Troy' cd on as my girlfriend and I were going to bed. We lay in bed and about 50 seconds in to "Rockstar Nailbomb!" I shot up and said, "Holy fuck, what the shit is this shit!?". True story.

That first self titled 'The Fall of Troy' LP is still my pick for best overall THE FALL OF TROY album as it's the most consistent and has some of the band's strongest tracks. The raw energy and passionate playing shine through amidst frantic and spastic screaming, post-hardcore/mathy hardcore insanity and a booming rhythm section. I can't believe the three fellas were about 17 years old when they recorded this, it's like Protest The Hero syndrome all over again. Some gems on this bad boy (that was later repressed and remastered by Equal Vision Records) include the aforementioned "Rockstar Nailbomb!", "The Circus That Has Brought Us Back to These Nights (Yo Chocola)", "F.C.P.S.I.T.S.G.E.P.G.E.P.G.E.P (demo)" and "What Sound Does A Mastadon Make?". The real highlights (besides "What Sound Does A Mastadon Make?") are the longer and simply unbelievably playful/heavy "Mouths Like Sidewinder Missiles" and "Whacko Jacko Steals the Elephant Man's Bones" which, again, for 17 year olds, or anyone really, these songs are masterpieces.

This love of the first LP is what drives my confusion and frustration with 2005's 'Doppleganger'. Don't get me wrong, it's a great album and all but the two best songs are culled from their debut release and were rerecorded. These songs are still the best songs on the album, therefore 'Doppleganger' simply cannot be as good as 'The Fall of Troy', in my opinion. I am aware that 'Doppleganger' was an instrumental album in turning a lot of punks onto heavier, screamier and more technical music but let's be honest, it's not their best record. In addition to the two songs already mentioned, a few other great tracks are "Just Got This Symphony Goin'", "We Better Learn How to Hotwire a Uterus" and "Tom Waits". The screaming on this record is a lot higher and screechier with some of it being downright comical. The clean (aka melodic) vocals sound much crisper and more confident than the previous outing. The recording quality is much better and they managed to concoct songs with more fluidity as opposed to just having a bunch of amazing parts.

'Manipulator' was a very interesting record. It's a bit of an anomaly as it mashes together the band's most accessible and catchy tunes to date and the same song'll rip your face off with the heaviest and most breakdown laden work of THE FALL OF TROY's career. I like this dichotomy and it really works as songs such as "The Dark Trail", "Problem!?", "Sledgehammer", "Ex-Creations" and "Shhh!!! If You're Quiet, I'll Show You a Dinosaur" are fantastic but "Semi-Fiction" is my fucking jam. The slow, melodic build combines with the band's quirkiness and forms a really cool atmosphere that detonates 33 seconds in and inputs some very fitting electronic blips and squeals. The back and forth screaming was always one of the band's strongest characteristic and it is utilized excellently here. "Sledgehammer" is the most aggressive and screamiest song on the album and people who think the band may have too many soft parts should take a listen to this. The songs themselves evolved on a pretty massive scale from the last album and can stand alone as individual songs as the their most innovative and complete collection that results in the second best THE FALL OF TROY record.

The fairly mysterious 'Phantom on the Horizon' was released with little-to-no press and it was a shame because this was the last release where the experimental and hardcore side of the band made a positive impact. In fact, this is a fantastic experience because the long, epic songs act as a testament to the complex and prodigious arrangements the band was capable of before the..."unfortunateness". Most songs here almost reach the ten minute mark and careen an evil ship through dark, treacherous waters - or something to that effect. I'm pretty sure this was written quite a bit prior to the release, as the sound itself harkens back to the days between 'The Fall of Troy' and 'Doppleganger'. Actually, the original demos were completed in 2004 but not recorded until 2008 for the actual release. Chapters "I", "II" and "V" are my favourites.

The "unfortunateness" I referred to in the last paragraph transpired in 2009 when I read a statement issued by the band that had the general effect of, "We are at the point in our career where making money and playing big, stadium shows is our goal and we will tailor our music as a means to get us there." That is by no means verbatim but the gist is pretty much the same as I'll never forget reading that and being wary of the new LP at the time, 'In the Unlikely Event'. I got two songs in and was relieved only to have those hopes dashed as the rest of the album was utter horseshit. Do not start with this album. I repeat, do not start with this album. Prior to it's release the founding bassist left the band which may have had something to do with the shittiness of the record.

Following the 2009 LP release THE FALL OF TROY disbanded only to reform a few years later and played their "good" albums (the first two or three) in a sold out setting. Perhaps they finally figured out that they could play to large amounts of people and still play killer tunes, instead of recycled power pop rock garbage. Hey, THE FALL OF TROY, release a new album already.

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